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Supplemental Statement of the Colorado Water Conservation Board to the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission concerning the Public Review Draft "Water in the West: The Challenge for the Next Century" . The following specific comments supplement the December 19, 1997 letter submitted to Ms. Denise Fort, Chair of the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission. River Basin Governance: Much ofthe negative reaction to the draft report which we have witnessed centers on the Commission's primary recommendation to create a new governance structure with federally appointed officials at the helm. The CWCB opposes this concept. The efforts to establish river basin commissions failed in the 1960s, and a return to those efforts today would impair or interfere with state authority for the development of resource management solutions. Added to the inherent unwieldiness of this structure is a long-held suspicion and mistrust offederal intrusion into water supply allocation and management. Some of the useful ideas discussed by the Commission appear to have been lost in the attempt to give so many interests a little piece of what they wanted. The truth is that reconciliation of competing values and development of innovative solutions will require a variety of regional efforts motivated by local stakeholders, not a one-size- fits-all approach imposed by Congress or federal agencies. Our experience indicates that a variety of structures and leadership patterns tailored to specific, unique situations are necessary to effectively resolve water resource management issues. Federal, state and local agencies, water users, environmental groups, and other stakeholders have effectively organized . themselves to address a wide variety of specific issues without the need for an appointed federal coordinator. Coordination of Federal Aeencies and Policies.:. The Commission needs to consider and recommend ways in which federal agencies can better deliver services to and participate in regional and local partnerships. Rather than mandating a new governance structure, the federal government should be responding to local initiatives, as they have started to do, at a scale and scope appropriate to the particular situation. These efforts need to be strengthened and encouraged through specific changes in agency procedures and increased coordination of federal policies at the Cabinet level, particularly among the several agencies within the Department of the Interior, and between the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. The draft report provides only minimal suggestions in this area. Clearly one area where federal coordination and leadership is needed is in the resolution of Native American water rights claims, particularly quantification of reserved rights deriving from federal trust responsibilities. We support and endorse the Commission's recommendations in this area. 1 .